River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-04-07
Fastening Ends and Binding Edges.

Il
Q. Barlow, OF Hudson.
So long ago that 1t seems like The
J shadow of now, recall small CIR
ambitious TO do whatever she had no
Judgment to understand, skill to exc
cute, nor patience 20 finish. One DAY
she brought to her mother ruined
, piece of ENTHUSIASTICALLY ruined
because the beginning had promised
, that it was going to be nice. The ma
terial was puckered and stretched anC
drawn out of shape; ends of thread
protruded here and there, and the
raveling edges had gnawed great jag
ged bites into the boay of the cloth
With a storm of tears and petulant
EXPLANATIONS, the child declared the
whole thing was hOrrid. Nobody could
do anything with such wretcLed stuff
there was no use trying any more!
remember, as if it were yesterday, the
questioning look in the mothers face,
and the sensible words she spoke: my
unhappy little girl, Your work is
spoiled, and spoiled only because you
neglected to fasten the ends and bind
the edges. No good, lasting work
ever was, or ever will be, done by
anybody careless enough to leave raw
edges and loose ends. Take care of
these two things and lalf the troubles
In life will vanish" The whimpering
child to whom this simple bit of per.
sonal advice was given, has lived to
see its wonderful efficiency and uni
versal applicability venlied thousand
times.
OF late, the newspapers have been
full of reports showing a depression
in all branches of agriculture. Dole
ful tales are told of the poor prospects
and grievous surroundings of the
farmers life. The two causes com.
monty assigned for this unsatisfactory
state of things, are small crops and
low prices for all farm products.
These are facts, aud facts must be
accepted whether agreeable or not.
| Not only are prices exceedingly low,
but they are likely to remain so. Nor,
can the grain crop for years to come
be made to average what it formerly
did.
The agricultural doctors have been
| called upon to cure these evils. They
have prescribed all sorts of fertilizers;
they have told the farmer to get thor
| Ough bred stock, to bald ample barns.
TO buy first-class machinery, to plant
only the best seed.
All excellent remedies in them
| selves, but like mani other doctors
prescriptions expense &c, and even when
| obtained, not necessarily successful
unless surrounding conditions are
favorable. Indeed, as well might
many poor farmer lie told he must
take trip to the noon, as that he
must have any of these things before
he can hope to better his circumstan-
ceS. Then, must his affairs continue
TO drift on year after year from bad TO
worse! Are there NO other causes of
trouble Are there no other rem
edies
Driving through the country dur
ing the past summer. have thought,
verify, there are many other causes.
Too often, saw impoverished fields,
dilapitated buildings, tangled shrub
berry, weedy gardens, gaping fences.
bantam fowls, half starved pigs, raw
bOned steer like cows, skinny calves,
heavy old horses, weak kneed colts,
rickety wagons, water soaked sun
dried machinery. Around too many
farm houses | saw litter and refuse
| and rubbish of all kinds; squalOr,
neglect and waste, in doors and out.
In some places there were Ignorance
| and laziness, intemBerance and dis
honesty and profanity. Think, too,
of the children in such homes, how are
they coming upl Are not the boys
likely to grow up even more weak,
shiftless, vulgar, vicious men than
| the fathers,-a source of anxiety and
| trouble to whOmsOever they are relat-
| ed, worthless to the community and
a curse to themselves And what is
to prevent the daughters from develop
ing into frivolous, improvident, help
less women, haSty in temper, coarse in
thought, untidy in person, with Meth
er head nor heart nor hands trained
to usefulness and beauty, their very
| souls barren and unlovely Seeing
these things, feeling that they ought
not so to be, believing that there was
no need they should 50 continue; like
a flash, it dawned upon me that these
| unfortunate farmers stood in the same
| position as the miserable child of long
| ago, with her frayed out rag of en-
! broidery, and equally in need of the
same advice.
am no Deborah, gifted with prOph-
ecy and zeal and elOquence, to show
| the road to ease and wealth to eX-
ceeding increase in hOcks and fields,
in horses and cattle, in menservants
and maidservants, but | can safely
say to every disheartened unsuccess-
full farmer, you will ind an ever pres
ent resource of hope and cheerfulness
in your calling if you will begin at
i once to bind the raw edges and fasten
the loose ends on your raVeling out
farm. Begin with whatever lies near
est. If burdocks and thistles are GO
ing to seed by the road side, cut them
down. If harness or wagon is out of
repair, fix it. If the gate is off
hinges, hang it. If there is hole in the
granary, stop it up. If the cellar is
not perfectly sweet, as it should be,
clean it. If there is confusion among
your accounts and store bills, straight
en- them up. Don't sit brooding over
small crops and low prices. If you
have done your best TO help these evils
whining about them longer will do no
good. Ignore them. Give your whole
mind and strength to the things you
can better. They will occupy you, in.
terest you, cheer you. Your worry
and low spirits will be gone. There
will be no immediate change in prices
or crops, but you will see things in
quite another light. You will won
der how you could have so plagued
and tormented yourself.
can't explain it, but | do know
that to put things to rights and to fee
that you have put them right, even in
the most trivial matters, is the sures
way to bring you on good terms witt
yourself and at peace with the world
fyou believe this--if udon't believe
it-try it and see.
Whatever your work. If you binC
the edges with thoroughIess. gooC
temper, courage, integrity, patience
and common sense, If yOu fasten tn,
loose ends with observation, skill, in
! dustry and economy, you may Sc
poor crops and low prices--yes, ant
sumptuous fare and fate and purpl'
, and fine linen and the Almighty dol
lar" at defiance.
Oitret.
5 Dr. Twins horse died on the 3lst ult. He wa
one Of the best horses in the county.
, Joseph Coon IS quite sick.
| III p4.-.+ scboo1 eornmpncad On Monday